A promise made is a promise kept

A promise made is a promise kept

A 365 days' work between the covers

This year's last season greeting to you all! It is the last day of 2014 and I have something big to discuss.

As this year has come to a wonderful end, you might remember me talk about my New Year's Resolution for the year 2014. A quick recap to those who can't be bothered with the link;

"In the year 2014 I will/have taste/d every alcohol product (most importantly the whiskies) we sell at our bar."

"The commandments with twists and turns"

A great way to combine work and pleasure:

1. Work: I want to learn how different whiskies taste like so I know what I am selling our customers
2. Pleasure. I want to learn to taste different whiskies to become better at it. 

Now 365 days to sample what, ~100 products in total? (I counted them, 133 is the correct amount) What looked like an easy job actually ended up being one of the closest thing to be unfinished!

Okay, let's break this "task" down. What did really happen during this year?

1. The whiskies

This included each and every whisky our bar holds. Naturally, in the course of one full year, some whiskies were drunk before I got to them and subsequently some new products were available for me to assess. As long as I had each currently available sampled at the end of this year, I considered it a success. Every time I sample a product, write down the date as well.

Example page. Name, "type" and date when tasted.

2. The liquors

This meant the rest. From the mild ABVs (e.g. port/sherry) to the hard stuff (gins, rums, vodkas and other).

3. No (tap) beers, wines or mixer liqueurs!

I deliberately wanted to limit this section not to be included in the resolution. The reason is quite simple. Sampling low ABV mixer liqueurs doesn't make much sense (no-one ever orders them separately) and with the bottled products we had so many seasonal changes (cidre weeks, summer beers, winter ales and so forth). The same goes for the wines. Although we have a more or less "steady" list, our wines changed throughout the year quite a few times.

4. What if a product was drunk before I got to it?!

Well that sucked! For instance, I was really sad that the Nikka 10yo was drunk before I was able to taste it. Okay, I got to taste its older 20yo brother but still, evaluating them together would have been so much better. Later on I will let you know about the ones "missing in action" and "new incomers".

5. Which one did you like the best? Which one was not good?

Each product, be it a whisky or a liquor, I rated with a 1-5 star system. When evaluating an article, I tried to write down a few notes regarding said product and finally putting a "rating" to it. Coarsely, the rating as follows and keep in mind, this is according to my opinion. What I say only reflects my personal preferences:

* : Did not taste good at all!
** : Meh. Lacked potential and taste.
*** : Palatable. Missed that little "oompf" to receive another star.
**** : Very good! Wouldn't mind having another one!
***** : Exceptional in taste, texture and finish. A diamond.

Strictly speaking, only the greatest whiskies got in my personal Hall of Fame. They needn't be a five-star whisky to achieve this but if they managed to knock my socks right off my feet, they made it to the list. In addition, the ones (whiskies) I liked the least had the "honor" of becoming products in my Hall of Shame. As for the rest liquors, I did rate them as well but did not include them in the HoF, for obvious reasons.

Finally, every time I had a sample at our bar, I kept the receipt. I wanted to know how much I spent over the year to accomplish this task.

MISSING IN ACTION(never got to sample these)

• Benriach 12yo non-chill filtered
• Benriach 16yo
• Nikka 10yo
• Highland Park Loki 15yo
• Laphroaig 10yo cask strength
• Laphroaig 18yo
• Ardbeg non-chill filtered
• Minttu (black mint)
• Koskenkorva Nordic Berries
• Koskenkorva Blueberry
• Koskenkorva Lingonberry
• Ardbeg Auriverdes

NEW PRODUCTS(available to sample)

• Nikka 20yo
• Ardbeg Corryveckan
• Plantation XO Rum
• Nikka from the Barrel
• Macallan Ruby

THE FINAL WHISKY
MISSION COMPLETED :D

Laphroaig Quarter Cask

So up to this day, I had finished everything else except for three whiskies! The Laphroaig series; Triple Wood, Cairdeas 2011 and Quarter Cask. After my work I sample the two former and as I got home I popped open the QC. Thus my New Year's Resolution was completed! And not a day too early :D

So what ended up being totally awesomesauce in flavor and which did not quite make it to the top (or even past the start line)?

The Hall of Fame and Shame, respectively

Eventually, according to my taste and preferences, some whiskies proved their right to become awesome, great and fabulous. "Sadly", for two whiskies this was not the case but quite the opposite. Glenlivet 18yo, Macallan 12yo sherry oak and Nikka 20yo were exceptional in taste and I had no problem adding this trio to the list! On the other hand, Bowmore 10yo (Devil's cask) and Johnny Walker Red Label were something quite horrid. Okay, for Red Label's defence, it is not a single malt but a blend. But even mixed with cola it didn't taste good! For ratings' sake I had to give it a "parenthesis" one star.

So what did this all cost me? Of course I didn't pay for the stuff I could drink at home. I counted the sums in the receipts and ended up in a sum of 343.8€! I actually had to recount twice because I got a bigger sum before! :D So this cost me less than 1€/day!

I have to admit that this New Year's Resolution was worth every cent. Not only did I experience a wide range of flavors but also (hopefully! :D) became more proficient in spirits of different styles. Now, could I explain you thoroughly about a whisky I tasted in February? Probably not. Sampling half a measure of whisky does not make me a pro, no sir! This is not just one year's job. It's a life-long process that follows one to their grave. It's a passion. If nothing else, at least I had quite a few different whiskies and other liquors to drink!


Sláinte!

When in doubt, gin it out!

A GIN TASTING

Well, hello everyone! It's been a good two and a half months (!) since my last post. My sincerest apologizes, I just happened to become a father for my first-born daughter, so I was rather busy all this time :D

But have no fear, I am here, with new tricks in my bag! My new (and fourth) shipment from Germany arrived just dandyishly so I could pull off another great tasting. This time we were to explore the world of gin. Given, from only two countries, but still!

Before we get to the details, I will try to "open up" my history to gin. As for most, gin equals Beefeater, Bombay, Gordon's and gin&tonics. It does make excellent other cocktails as well (the legendary French 75 for example) but is it really good drunk pure? This we were about to find out. Of course, we sampled these products with some "special" tonics as well and finished the night with three different gin-based cocktails.

Our first gin, a true classic, if you may, was Beefeater London dry gin. This was known to everyone of us the best. The second one, an organic gin, The Duke of Munich, from...you guessed, Munich. The last was a gin "titled" by the world as a "super-premium-excellence-diamond-platinum-one-of-a-kind"; Monkey 47 Schwartzwald dry gin from Germany as well! All of them were at least 45% ABV (90 proof), the Beefeater and Monkey 47 being 47% (94 proof) respectively. So stronger than your usual stuff.

SAMPLING

As you can see, this was super interesting :D What was really remarkable was the fact that gin as a product is really versatile! The amount of different styles of gin has sky rocketed in the last few years. Taste-wise, the Beefeater was the purest. Meaning, this tastes as people would imagine gin should taste like. Moreover, even with 47% it was incredibly smooth.

The Duke of Munich on the other hand, quite the opposite. Although in its purest form it wasn't quite as palatable as the other two, it had a long, lingering aftertaste. To the nose it was a bit stuffy. But there's quite the twist to this gin, explained later!

Thirdly and as our "joker" the Monkey 47. According to their websites they used lingonberries in the process of making this gin. Anyhow, this gin was extremely fresh and lemony! One wouldn't believe it's gin at first! It was truly an exception to the bunch.

So now that we've sampled these pure, how about some tonic added?

Instead of using the o'regular Schweppes tonic water, I had a few bottles of Tonic Monaco at my disposal (from Aquamonaco). With silly 0.23L sizes (seriously), we used the extra dry tonic with our dry London gin and the regular tonic with the two others.

Of course the garnish part plays an important role. With the Beefeater, a lemon slice. The Duke of Munich received an orange slice (as recommended on their website) and with the Monkey 47 I decided to go with a lime wedge (just because). I tried to extract some juice of said fruit before adding the tonic.

As you could imagine, adding extra dry tonic with dry gin, the result? Quite dry!

I mean it was really, really dry. And I didn't know you could drink liquid that dry. Phooie! The greatest (positive) reaction was from the Duke of Munich version. Albeit it didn't claim much success by itself, in a tonic it was the best one! The Monkey 47 + tonic did succeed from the given task quite nicely as well. A very refreshing choice!

We finished the evening with three gin cocktails: Club Cover Cocktail, Bee's Knees and the Pegu Club Cocktail, in all using different gins (in given order).

Club Cover Cocktail was liked the best

Okay, I lied. I also made a Boston Sour.

Delicious. Period.

Summa summarum, the world of gin is exploding. The mass-produced "we-all-know-these" gins are getting substituted by special, distiller cuts or otherwise extraordinary products with each having their own little special quirk in their taste. I also believe that everyone can find their own favorite, let it be with or without (any) mixer.

Clover Club Cocktail

CLOVER CLUB COCKTAIL

A wonderful evening to each and every one!

Tonight I present you with a classic cocktail; The Clover Club Cocktail. Fair enough, I made the most common variation of this, explained later. Moreover, here's a perfect example how egg whites work in cocktails and what an outstanding looks they give to the final product! Let's take a look, shall we?

• 4.5 cl gin
• 1.5 cl lemon juice
• 1.5 cl raspberry syrup or grenadine
• 1 egg white

The original recipe calls for raspberry syrup. The most used variation of this (how I made it, too) substitutes the syrup with grenadine. I won't get a bottle (if I even find one) for this one particular drink. But anyhow, combine everything in a shaker and dry shake first. The egg white emulsifies the drink. Then add the ice, shake again and double strain into your chilled cocktail glass. Raspberry garnish optional (should you have any at your disposal).

I even wrote down notes regarding this cocktail, since my wife was watching a TV-series from the laptop.

First things first. Beautiful color and texture! Velvety smooth and the layers stay in the drink for a long, long time. Even the mouth-feel was exquisite! Taste-wise, the gin was definitely present, albeit "smooth". The Club Clover isn't too bitter and has a definite after-sweetness to it.

I give this cocktail a 4½/ 5 for the outlooks (seriously this is one good looking cocktail) and a 3/5 for taste. Given, using the "proper" ingredient (raspberry syrup) would probably make a big difference.

*EDIT*

using raspberry syrup now

So I made the same drink...almost two years later, now using proper raspberry syrup instead of grenadine. The drink is otherwise exactly the same. My thoughts? Was better, definitely. Some recipes call for some dry French vermouth for that little oompf and "yay I'm an adult" :D, I can't see anything wrong with that. That said, this drink is easily modified and in my sincerest opinion making a twist to this IBA cocktail does not hurt at all!

Punch in the face

PUNCH IN THE FACE

Three punch ideas for a par-tayh

Good evening everyone. With my wife one (1!) day due from "labor" (these are interesting times, my dear readers), a good friend of mine gave me a challenge!

Last Saturday I bumped into him at my work. He had a friend who was organizing a big party and needed a good punch for it. So my friend challenged me to come up with a few ideas and preferably have a tasting at my place. Since I'm rather short on time (our first born should pop any given day now), I managed to make the tasting happen today.

I was given one restriction; the punch can't be overly sweet.

So as I rode my bike on Sat. (technically Sun.) night home, I came up with three ideas, of which I actualized two. I didn't know the "theme" for the party, so I made a range of different styles of punches which would work and if needed, could be tweaked easily.

For a punch, a few reminders. The most important part; garbage in, garbage out. Using crap products gives you a said result; crap. That said, it is vital to recognize we're building a punch here. So there's no reason to buy champagne when you can use sparkling wine. Well there's one obvious reason. You don't spend so much money with the latter. BUT say one uses juices for their punch. Getting the cheapest carton of concentrated stuff can and will make a big difference.

In addition, always work in parts. It is way easier making a big bowl of punch when you can easily e.g. ten-fold your amount of liquid poured in and still have the same consistency with each batch.

Lastly, freeze a carton of juice instead of a big chunk of ice for each batch. This way as the block melts it gives more flavor than just regular ice/water.

So let's get down to business. The three ideas I had were:

Grasovka-pear and the citron-peach, respectively.

• Grasovka (bison grass vodka)
• Xanté
• Cloudy apple juice (premium)
• Sparkling wine

• Citron vodka (in this case Absolut)
• Peach liqueur
• Orange juice (premium/"squeezed")
• Sparkling wine
• (twist, explained later)

And the last (which was not made since I didn't have the material)

• Bacardi Razz/Forest fruit vodka/Nordic berries vodka
• Cassis/raspberry/relevant liqueur
• Forest fruit juice
• Sparkling rose wine

With the first, I thought of a "wintery apple pie/pear punch" with cinnamon sticks/apple slices as a decoration. The consensus was this would work as a drink but was too heavy for a punch. The second one I made (two versions actually) was a solid candidate. The fact I squeezed the juice for the glass made it (surprise, surprise) very fresh and easily enjoyed! I made another version where I substituted the peach liqueur with apricot brandy and a Fanta and the difference was huge, in favor for the first version.

The last idea was something "forest fruity", merely to give options for a different kind of punch.

Whatever they decide to go with in the end, I really felt that this was a fun assignment to have as we also discussed total punch amounts + pretty much covered everything related to the party, punch and garnishes in general.

Whiskey tastings and life

WHISKEY TASTINGS AND LIFE

Hello again dear readers! The last two days have been quite extraordinary indeed as I had two tastings with completely different styles of whiskies! The true beauty of these is doing it with friends and eventually, the whole process of a tasting turns out into a long get-together. I really like that. 

This "two-part" tasting started on Tuesday at the bar I work at, where I met two of my good friends and a friend of my friend, an Italian exchange student...

:D

Jokes aside, he was a really cool guy. He drank beer with us and wasn't afraid of anything.

So what was the first tasting all about? The peat bomb Ardbeg - series hailing from Islay! As far as I was concerned, I've never been a true fan of heavily smoked/peaty whiskies. But with maturity comes great respon...taste bud development and lately I can appreciate a good smoked whisky. I would still prefer a sherry-like malt over any Islay whisky, though. But as I want to finish my project (New Year's Resolution 2014), I knew this day would eventually come.

The tasting included:

• Ardbeg 10yo
• Ardbeg Uigeadail (matured in a mix of bourbon and sherry casks)
• Ardbog (matured in ex-manzanilla sherry casks for at least 10 years)
• Ardbeg Corryveckan (previously a Committee-only bottling, it is intended as a replacement for Airigh Nam Beist in the core range)

For me these were difficult to evaluate properly. Yes, they were really peaty and all of them had an incredibly long finish. I kid you not when I say the flavors lingered in the mouth for a long, long time after tasting them. Corryveckan had peppery notes and out of these four I enjoyed the Uigeadail the best. Overall these whiskies were genuinely soft.

The evening continued with beers and alike with a soft touch of schnapps. But this was just the beginning...

The following day (one of my friends stayed over for the night) I conducted a Bourbon tasting with three products! I held this tasting twice today; once at noon and a second time when one friend got here from school.

For this tasting I initially had in mind to order the whole range of Jim Beam (they have over a dozen of different styles of bottling) and truly evaluate the differences (age and effect of wood respectively). But while writing a letter to a friend of mine a few weeks back and explaining this, I had a doubt. "Would I really want this? Can I really afford this?" I ended up ordering only two different ones along with the "basic" one I already had:

• Jim Beam White (4yo)
• Jim Beam Black (6yo)
• Jim Beam Signature Craft (12yo)

One really distinctive difference with these products was the effect of age and thus color; the 12yo has a copper-ish color whereas the youngest (white/4yo) possesses a light golden (slightly shifting to green) color. Woody notes were present , perfume and wax. With age the flavor becomes apparent smoother. I did enjoy the Signature Craft's smoothness but taste-wise the Black was a tad better.

As we sampled these bourbons as their own, I then had the same amount of said whiskies in glasses with a fixed amount of soft drink (pepsi) added to it. A big thanks to a friend of mine, who gave me whisky stones the weekend before; these became extremely handy! So what I did was put about 2 cl (~½ fl oz) of bourbon, add two whisky stones and 5 cl of pepsi (1½ fl oz) to "reanimate" a bourbon&coke and perhaps taste how they differ. Had I used regular ice the drink would've eventually watered down altering the results of this "scientific" experiment.

As a joker I then introduced a fourth bourbon i.e. Maker's Mark, which we sipped but didn't really evaluate. This was kind of a "hey now that you've tasted these Jim Beams have a sip of this!"

Tasting in progress

Before the other friend got here we popped open the Highland Park 12yo (or HP when feeling rad). I have to admit, this whisky was a purchase truly based on comments/reviews. I must concur with the rest; this is a good whisky! The remarkable aspect of this is how I couldn't nose the subtle smokiness but in the mouth it is present. It also has a long finish, which I appreciate.

The evening ended with a game of hearts. 

It was a really nice two days with good drink and better company!

Mango Pineapple Vodka (infused vodka)

MANGO PINEAPPLE VODKA

Howdy ho you cocktail loving creatures of the night! As part of my infused vodka series I am hereby proceeding with my second bottling! Forget everything I mentioned about the "Plum Pudding Vodka" behind the link! Instead, I did a rather fruity mix! A Mango Pineapple Vodka! Before we proceed to the basics, here's a rather "style-ish" picture of my earlier Spiced Pear Vodka infusion I strained into my Loki bottle:

Oh yea check out that scrub!

So to make some Mango Pineapple Vodka you will naturally need:

A good sized, ripe-ish pineapple...

A mango, rinsed, brushed and towel-dried...

A vanilla pod! (I fu**ing looooooove vanilla!)

And finally a standard bottle of vodka (700ml). Again, don't spend your money on "top-tier" vodkas that have been filtered over a million times through who-knows-what but also don't make the mistake of buying the cheapest booze-like vodka out there. That said, my choice (Smirnoff) is a good and reliable choice for infusions.

So now that we have our ingredients ready, let's get to work! OH and don't forget your mason jar!

Cut your mango into chunks!

Split open the vanilla pod lengthwise and stick it right in there!

Add your chunks of pineapple!

Pour in the vodka! Avot!

Close the jar and let it rest for about ~2 weeks in a dry, dark place (pun intended). Give it a shake/stir every day or so and taste it after a few days. When you start to like the concoction, go ahead and strain/bottle it!

I shall bottle this into my "Thor" bottle as said, in a couple of weeks time. :)

A completely different story...

A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT STORY

Taken today at my mother's urn burial spot

“Tears shed for another person are not a sign of weakness. They are a sign of a pure heart.”

― José N. Harris

Today I'll write a completely different story. A story not related to cocktails. On one hand it is a happy story but on the other a heart-breaking one.

In the past year so much has happened I sometimes have difficulties grasping all that really went on. Moreover, "ranking" these life events according to "importance" is utterly futile, since in the end it does not really matter. They have all happened and I have dealt with them in my own way.

Last year, on this exact date, my mother passed away. The day before that I quit my old job and was starting my career as a bartender. And the day before that I did my first ever tryout shift at said bar to see if I was "bartending material". It was "just like any weekend" except that my sister had called me on Saturday and told me our mother wasn't doing too good. We drove about 165km to my sister's place so "the next day we could see our mom."

We never got to do that as she passed away in her sleep.

I cried and I wept. I felt guilt for not visiting my mother, no, for not appreciating the time with my mother while she still lived nearer to me&wife. Back then, years ago, I felt as if I was obliged to do it every Sunday.

Also, as the youngest son I felt as if I had the "least time with her" in comparison with my older siblings. It's funny how you take such things for granted and when they're suddenly gone you realize how much you really had. It's ironic since I was the closest sibling for a few years when my mother still lived in Tampere. After her condition made her move to a town where my oldest sister lives, I never got around visiting her with the exception of Easter or some other "special events". When I now think of that time, it is really shameful how few a times I saw her during that time.

The last time I could reasonably talk with her was in fact 2013 Easter. Her condition collapsed a few months later and in July, 2013 she could barely talk but instead lie in bed. Just seeing her that time, I cried the whole visit while there.

The next and last time I saw her was at the funeral. As Orthodox, it was an open casket funeral and only a few relatives were attending. My oldest brother flew from Germany with his wife & oldest son to attend the ceremony.

I get comfort from my siblings with whom I stayed for almost a week in Kerava. I also got major support from my wife & her family. A few months later I invited close friends and relatives at my home where we ate, had coffee and read condolence cards sent by people who knew my mother.

That weekend was a big point in my life. I could say, where one life ends, another begins (as in my new career). Now, on this exact date in 2014, I'm ~one month away from being a father for my first born child. It's a mystery where life lays paths for one to follow. A path I have never walked before and sometimes the sole idea of fatherhood scares the s**t out of me. But I will prevail and raise one helluva kid.

A TOAST TO MY MOTHER!

A (wheat) beer tasting

A (WHEAT) BEER TASTING

A wonderful evening to each and everyone once again! As you might have noticed by the title, I planned a wheat beer tasting for me & my friend last weekend. The reason I put the "wheat" in parenthesis was I miserably failed at choosing beers! :D From the picture the second from the right is in fact not a wheat beer at all! I accidentally took it while browsing (wheat) beers at the local retailer so what we ended up was three wheat beers and one rosé bock (lager)!

Nonetheless, I pulled it off and with two friends abroad we tackled them like pros.

But first the "scientific" part. For the sake of this blog, let's pretend I never chose the lager for the collection :D. As we know, there are many types of wheat beers out there, Hefeweizens (unfiltered), Kristallweizens (filtered), dark wheat beers, Dutch witbier, Berliner Weisse, lambics and so forth. I could've chosen one type (un/filtered/dark/speciality) from one brewery (e.g. Franziskaner) but then realized how silly that would be in a world filled with different wheat beers! Instead I wanted to choose two unfiltered ones, one dark and one "specialty", which indeed turned out special (not a wheat beer at all!)

Beautiful, beautiful, beer

As I reserved way more beer than originally meant to be drunk, here's the list of what we used in drinking order (left to right):

• Paulaner Hefe-Weissbier (Munich) 5.5%
• Kloster Andechs Weizen (Andechs) 5.5%
• Schmucker Rosé Bock (Mossautal) 8.0% (not a wheat beer at all but a lager!)
• Schneider Weisse Aventinus (Kelheim) 8.2%

All of these beers hail from Germany. As with the weizens, they all had their unique "banana" flavor to it. A positive note on Aventinus, even with the 8.2% ABV it didn't taste strong. On the contrary, the Rosé Bock was not only bitter as f**k, the alcohol level was way to potent, at least for me. (the reason why I'm not a big fan of Belgian Trappist beers; their alcohol level is too much for me to enjoy them thoroughly)

I liked the Andechs beer the most. Its taste was fresh and less malty in comparison to Paulaner and Aventinus. The Aventinus had surprising, sweet (honey) notes to it. The lager was...well, bitter in all aspects. As we can clearly see, the Paulaner was maltier as well, its caramel-color when compared to its cousin the Andechs.

Since we only needed to pop one bottle/three drinkers, we saved the rest for the glorious movies Expendables I and II, which we watched before going to town to see the third. Truth to be told, the trilogy got worse after each movie but heck, these were meant to be seen! 

One HEAVENLY combo to be enjoyed!

After the third movie, one of my friends headed home but the other one stayed for a drink at the pub next door:

'

Of course I had to order a Weizen and their local noisette/nut schnapps!

The night "ended" at my place for an after party and sauna. Was good, so good!

Spiced Pear Vodka (infused vodka)

SPICED PEAR VODKA

Ahh, the serenity! Today a lovely package came from abroad bringing me all kinds of goodies!

The bottles of vodka are 75% for infused use, as mentioned in my earlier post regarding those vodka infusions. Jim Beam Black (I now have the white one, black one and signature craft) for another tasting, some mixing cognac (Hennessy VS), tequila (Silver Patrón), The Duke Organic Gin from Munich, El Dorado 15yo, Highland Park 12yo and with the few extra euros in my PayPal account one "Oktoberfest" beer. Alas the packaging of the rum came up torn and the gift package supposed to come with the Hennessy didn't come at all. I mentioned these in my review. Not that I really care (because these two are not intended for gifts), but I expect getting whole products and not torn apart/missing packaging when ordering stuff online.

Anyhow, so after the work meeting in the morning, I met up with my friend and had lunch. He had errands to run after that and I went to the store and fetched a few selected items for today's project I didn't have waiting for me at home already. I got home anxiously waiting for the box above. Yay!

I looked up the recipe for the Spiced Pear Vodka. So what I needed was...

Cloves, cinnamon sticks and some star anise...

A few pears and a vanilla pod.

...and of course some vodka. A whole 700ml bottle of it (editor's note: and a little bit of extra).

As seen in the little pictures, first wash the pears and cut them into slices. Add the cloves (5) and cinnamon stick (1). Instead of just putting the vanilla pod in, I scraped the vanilla essence out of it and put it in there as well. Lasty put the ½ star anise in as the editor of the original recipe mentioned the strong flavor it had.

Add the vodka and avot! I shall strain and bottle this beauty in the Thor bottle I have in about 4-5 days. I shall report more when the job is "officially" done. By the way a big thanks to one of my good friends who provided me with a big o' mason jar!